Re: Anyone regret getting TDI diesel over Gas?

Always wanting a diesel vehicle and not being able to get a Passat with a diesel, I bought a 2003 Jetta TDI wagon (the last of its kind in Massachusetts). Knock on wood, it has been delightful, but it is really a two person vehicle with room for the tennis bag and golf clubs (okay, skis, both XC and Alpine fit on the roof). We also have a Saab convertible, a BMW

7 series, a Chevy Tahoe and a MB ML320. I love the TDI. It goes like a bat out of hell, has a great deal of low end torque, and is simply fun to drive. Add to that it gets a gazillion miles to the gallon (okay I am getting around 44 mpg, but I have not done anything to improve the mileage). Of course when I show up at the golf course in it, the help thinks I am not a member, but rather there to take out the trash. Snobs. It handles well in the snow and ice, but I wish it had 4Motion.

I intend to trade in 2007 for a Passat when the Commonwealth allows diesels again, but in the interim it is a wonderful vehicle. Mine is black with a black leather interior. The interiors in the VW's are very good. Almost as supple as the BMW, but not quite. I recently drove through mountainous backroads in Spain in a Discovery. I would have loved to have the Jetta instead.

Yes, I am stuck with the dealer, but what the hell. If anything goes really wrong, I know where he lives. ;-)

Tom

I bought a 1998 Jetta TDI and will not be purchasing another TDI. > > This was my first new car and I babied it, brought it to the dealer > every 4500-5000 miles for service. I have a long commute, > approximately 100 miles a day. Additionally, from 98-03 this was our > only car, so it also saw some long road trips. > > I love driving this car and the gas milage is unbeatable. That being > said, I have not had a great experience with this car. It currently > has 150K miles on it. At 120K, the lifter on the factory installed > engine lifter broke while driving on the highway approximately 1 month > after I had the timing belt replaced by the dealer (coincidence? I > think not!). I decided to have the engine replaced with a salvaged one > with 55K miles on it. The "new" engine has had a number of problems, > which I don't completely blame on VW. I don't know how the engine was > maintained prior to my buying it, but I've been taking care of it as > well as I did the original, with the main exception being I no longer > take it to a dealer. I found an independant mechanic who is a TDI > fanatic. > > The experience of having to have the engine replaced has caused me to > rethink my choice of purshasing a diesel, regardless of the benefits of > ownership. The main reason is in my experience, hardly anyone outside > of a VW dealer has any experience in working on TDIs. Although they > are getting more popular, they're still rare. I had a hard time > finding anyone who was willing to work on my car since it was a diesel. > This greatly reduces your repair / service options. Additionally, > whenever a problem comes up with the engine, in my experience there is > usually only one VW service tech who is really qualified to work on > TDIs at each dealer (at least the 4 dealers I have brought the car to > in the Boston metro area). If another tech is working on your car, > service is sometimes delayed when they have to consult with their > resident expert (which also drives up the price). > > I've also been told by a dealer service tech that the other VW > powerplants send more data to the diagnostic computer, which decreases > problem diagnostic time (he told me this when I recently experienced a > loss of acceleration at highway speeds which was attributed to a faulty > Air Mass sensor -- apparently a 1.8T, etc. would have sent an error > code to the computer when this condition occurs, which my TDI didn't). > I don't know if this statement is true, or if it's only true for older > TDIs. I haven't spent any time looking into the validity of this, so > please don't flame me for being wrong if this is not true. I would be > curious in hearing if someone knows the answer to this. > > For my next car, I've decided to go with the flow and buy the gas > poweplant which everyone else has. since this will make servicing the > car much more convenient. > > Even with the problems I have had with this car, I am not writing off > VW since I love driving these cars. I also own a 03 Passat 1.8T which > I am very happy with. >
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Tom R.
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